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104
Martial artists of the world.
Last late summer, under the searing heat of Hubei, we witnessed the sweat and effort of countless Rising Stars.
And we beheld the kind hearts of two women, more beautiful than any flower in this world.
Nine Dragons! We beheld the blazing vigor of youth, stronger than any other!
Six Phoenixes! We beheld the refined, elegant grace of women, more beautiful than any other!
Swallow Maiden Phoenix! Crouching White Phoenix! Mountain Lord Phoenix! Most Beautiful Phoenix!
That is right! The phoenixes of the White Path and the Demonic Cult have soared into the heavens, becoming celestial blossoms!
The White Path's Number One Flower, the Taiji Flower, Sa-gong Hee-----!!
The Black Path's Number One Flower, the Demonic Cult's Little Princess-----!!
We are deeply moved that these two phoenixes have ascended to the sky, become heavenly flowers, and blessed this arena with their radiance!
Behold!
Who will become the new phoenixes to claim the two remaining seats!
Here in Xuchang, where spring flowers bloom in full and the fragrance of the whole world gathers!
At the Murim Alliance's Special Martial Arts Arena!!
The Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle------
begiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiins
now-------------!!
* * *
'An energetic start, no matter how often I hear it.'
I had taken a seat in the stands, my identity wholly concealed by the Body Transformation Art, a change of clothes, a Human Skin Mask, and a face wrap.
The arena was so crowded there was no room to move, packed with women whose eyes blazed with the fire of ambition for just two seats, the members of the sects gathered to cheer them on, and spectators who had flocked to feast their eyes upon countless flowers.
"Whoa, look! It's really the Demonic Cult's Little Princess! They say a goddess was born on the Heavenly Mountain!!"
"Hmph, anyone can see she's the spiteful type. Compared to that, our Taiji Flower Young Lady...!"
The crowd's gaze was fixed on the two Black-and-White First Flowers seated to the left and right of the Murim Alliance Leader.
Eyes that should have been drawn to the women packing the arena were instead locked onto Sagong Hee and Lee Si-a.
'The Alliance Leader is a truly ruthless man.'
Seizing the moment when both Black-and-White First Flowers were present to grace the event, he had arranged the Two Phoenixes seats as if the pair were 'bestowing' them.
"Huh... do you see the look on that daughter of the Namgung Clan? She's absolutely seething."
"It looks like she's sulking because all eyes aren't on her."
It wasn't just Namgung Yurin. Every woman participating in the opening ceremony was glaring at the Black-and-White First Flowers, and the remaining Four Phoenixes—minus the Most Beautiful Phoenix—who were seated beside them, had fire in their eyes.
'They all believe that seat right there should belong to them.'
The Black-and-White First Flowers sat to the left and right of the Alliance Leader, below them on a lower platform were the seats of the Six Phoenixes, and in front of Sagong Hee and Lee Si-a sat two empty chairs. The spectators murmured, watching the female warriors who were staring daggers at those empty spots.
"How insulting. We're all Six Phoenixes... tsk, tsk. Isn't it reverse discrimination to elevate only some of us like that?"
"Tsk. Both of the Black-and-White First Flowers are Peak Experts. How can they lower themselves to fight among mere first-rate warriors? They're on a different level, a different level."
"The Taiji Flower is on par with a Wudang Sect elder, and it goes without saying for the Little Princess. Isn't it only natural for levels to be divided?"
Even during the Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle, the crowd's conversations remained fixed on the Black-and-White First Flowers.
The center of attention was overwhelmingly the Black-and-White First Flowers, so the fact that a silver-haired beauty, among those absent from the opening ceremony, had not appeared went almost entirely unmentioned.
'That Alliance Leader, the way his mind works is truly something else.'
He'd focused all attention on Sagong Hee, Lee Si-a, and the Six Phoenixes invited from various regions.
'All of that scheming is to draw everyone's focus to his own daughter.'
Who is this Peak-Realm female master who has appeared like a comet!
'Barring any unforeseen problems, Dokgo Yeon is the strongest among the Two Phoenixes—no, the strongest among the Rising Stars.'
The Alliance Leader was surely well aware of Dokgo Yeon's level too. As the man who personally taught her the Dugu Nine Swords, he would know more painfully than anyone just what a monster Dokgo Yeon is.
'Either reclaim the title of White Path's Number One Flower, or have a new chair set up right in front of the Alliance Leader's seat.'
Though others seemed not to notice, the arrangement of the special seats where the twin flowers, the Six Phoenixes, and the Alliance Leader sat had the Alliance Leader's chair placed slightly higher.
In other words, the spot where Dokgo Yeon would sit had been decided from the start. Decided by none other than Dokgo Ja-yeong himself.
'That Alliance Leader is going to yield his seat to his daughter.'
Dokgo Yeon would not become one of the Two Phoenixes. To be precise, she would surpass the Two Phoenixes and take a seat on the same level—or slightly higher—than the Black-and-White First Flowers.
Just as a Peak Expert cannot jump into a fight between first-rate warriors, a Peak-Realm master cannot join in the children's games of first-rate fighters.
Dokgo Yeon's victory was assured.
'If only her body were normal.'
Even by just suppressing the symptoms of the Eighteen Yin Torment Severed Meridian, she could win. And I had treated her with every kind of Spirit Medicine so that she could compete smoothly.
"Wow... there really are a lot of people here."
Just like the woman beside me now, who was completely absorbed in sightseeing and showed no sign of ever having coughed up blood.
"Lady Yeon, how is it?"
"It's... amazing. I never knew the outside world was this vast."
Beside me, the silver-haired girl dressed like the noble daughter of a prominent house, Dokgo Yeon, was looking around in all directions with an elated face. Her conspicuous silver hair was hidden, pressed down under a white wide-brimmed hat.
Just stepping outside her family home for the first time in ten years was thrilling, and yet well over twenty thousand people were gathered inside the arena alone.
"About four hundred are competing in the tournament, yet the spectators number over twenty thousand. The Alliance Leader is remarkable indeed, selling admission tickets so people can watch."
"It's the main source of income for the Alliance. They have to cover the costs of expanding the arena, don't you think?"
Contrary to her innocent nature, Dokgo Yeon—like a true future Alliance Leader—was keenly aware of the practical principles that kept an organization running.
"If they'd let people in for free, anyone would have come and ruined the order. Some might even have entered with ill intentions."
"That's right. You are indeed very sharp."
In days to come.
For a certain reason, the Murim Alliance's strategist would vanish, and the strategist's child, Jegal Geondam, would rampage as a vengeful ghost named Geom-je. Amid that chaos, she would prove her mettle, leading the Murim Alliance alone and coordinating with the Demonic Cult to oppose the Blood Cult.
A 'super-ultimate' genius, embodying both martial and scholarly excellence.
But like all geniuses, she was fated to die young or bear a sickness.
'What if that sickness were to disappear?'
Not only would the phoenix heal its wounded wings and soar to the heavens, but it would stand before the very face of the Jade Emperor and turn the celestial realm upside down. Dokgo Yeon had that much talent.
"Lady Yeon, I can assure you, even without my treatment, you would have been able to overcome your illness."
"...'Would have been able'?"
Dokgo Yeon instantly pointed out the ambiguity in my words.
"That's right. By brute force. The coughing of blood would have plagued you your entire life, but you would have prolonged your lifespan through a strong spirit, immense Inner Energy, and all sorts of elixirs."
"......."
A flash of terror crossed Dokgo Yeon's eyes. Because she hadn't coughed up blood even once in the few days since I met her, she felt a sudden dread that the hemoptysis might recur.
Clasp.
"Believe in me."
I grasped Dokgo Yeon's hand. The small, delicate hand, like a bracken frond, trembled violently at first, but as I imbued it with warmth, it gradually began to steady.
"You will surely become one of the Two Phoenixes."
"How can you be so certain? On what basis?"
"I've wagered a hundred silver coins on you."
"......."
Dokgo Yeon covered her face with her other sleeve and turned her head away. Seeing her shoulders shake, she had definitely burst out laughing.
"Yes... I understand. *Sniff.* For the sake of repaying the treatment costs I owe you, Doctor, I will do my best."
"Please, do your very best."
The more she exerted herself, the more the illness dwelling within her would eventually hobble her.
— Once a patient recovers their health through the power of medicine, they seek out that medicine like an opium addict.
This is a lesson taught neither by my master nor by the Blood Cult Leader. It is a brutal truth of life I learned in my bones while enduring agonizing days in my childhood.
Because I was someone who relied on every kind of drug just to survive, I could understand Dokgo Yeon's feelings.
"Tell me if you ever feel pain. My touch alone should be enough to heal it."
"...Pfft, a fine joke. ...But the fact that it's real is even more astonishing. What technique did you use?"
"The strong will of a physician, determined to cure his patient, no matter what."
In this world, I alone can know Dokgo Yeon's innermost thoughts.
'The Demonic Cult's Eldest Son spread a poison on Dokgo Yeon that would kill her, no question.'
Surely, the Eldest Son possesses a way to cure the Eighteen Yin Torment Severed Meridian. Just as I approached Dokgo Yeon by claiming to be the Divine Doctor's disciple, he too would have tried to approach her by offering hope for a cure.
Hope.
I, too, had sprinkled the poison called 'hope'—the hope that she 'can be healed'—onto Dokgo Yeon.
"Don't worry. I will definitely cure you."
"......Th-that's truly something to be grateful for."
Dokgo Yeon glanced around surreptitiously, then whispered quietly into my ear.
"......Um, is there truly no other method?"
"None!"
At my definitive statement, Dokgo Yeon, seeming embarrassed, quietly slipped her hand out of my grasp.
But.
"...Cough."
The moment a small cough escaped her, she frantically grabbed my hand again. Then, her face flushed red, she hung her head and couldn't say a word.
"......I should take my leave now."
"Keep your spirits up, Young Lady. Keep this in your mouth beforehand."
I produced a bead-sized blue candy for Dokgo Yeon. It wasn't fruit, but I had made it sweet and slightly tart to suit her palate.
"You won't cough up blood while it's in your mouth. Think of it as my substitute."
"Pfft. Its color is quite unique, though. What fruit is it?"
"It's not fruit. I ground up Human-shaped Snow Ginseng and made it into a candy."
"......."
Dokgo Yeon stared at the Snow Ginseng candy with a slightly appalled expression.
"It's the same principle as giving something sweet to children when you feed them medicine. You dislike medicine because it's bitter, don't you?"
"......I am not a child."
"Hehe, you're still a girl, not a woman yet, aren't you?"
"...Hmph!"
Dokgo Yeon turned and left the stands. I waved my hand, seeing her off.
"I'll be making you a woman soon... hehehe. ...Hmm?"
A prickle ran down my back. Some strange energy made my head turn instinctively.
"Ho-oh."
Between the gaps in the crowd, a woman with hair like black silk was quietly disappearing. I caught her unique fragrance and followed her.
"I should have a snack too."
Lick.
I chewed on a Human-shaped Snow Ginseng rice cake and tailed the woman.
* * *
"There are too many people."
Yoo Seol-ra sat down on top of a box in a supply shed, a place untouched by the eyes of others. The shed was as small as a room in a crumbling hut, and it was crammed with all sorts of odds and ends.
On the door of the shed was a sign reading 'Authorized Personnel Only,' but even the staff passing by never noticed the shed's existence.
Nor did they notice Yoo Seol-ra walking right in.
The shed and the small 'Soul-Bewildering Nine Palaces Formation' spread out before it had become Yoo Seol-ra's tiny palace, unknown to anyone in the world. Even the Murim Alliance Leader wouldn't be able to enter unless they knew the way to break the Soul-Bewildering Nine Palaces Formation.
"Huuu...."
Yoo Seol-ra activated the Ice White Divine Art. At once, a portion of her hair began to change to white—no, silver. It looked as if she had put a black wig over silver hair.
"The Central Plains are too hot."
Even though it was only spring, with flowers just beginning to bloom, and summer was far off, Yoo Seol-ra simply couldn't adapt to the heat of the Central Plains. By operating the Ice White Divine Art, she could maintain her body temperature, but doing so returned her hair to its 'original' state, so she was forced to abandon using her Inner Energy.
"It's hot. Annoying."
Yoo Seol-ra took off her wig. There wasn't much difference in her appearance before and after, but she had to wear a wig to conceal her natural silver hair.
"Now I can finally rest a bit."
Yoo Seol-ra sat blankly for a while, then, looking at her own page in the Flower Directory, murmured toward the empty space.
"...Emei Sect, Emei Sect. I am the one who inherited the true transmission of the Emei Sect's Cold Soaring Jade Woman Sword."
As if double-checking a memorized fact, Yoo Seol-ra had to repeat her 'false identity' to herself over and over.
She had to fight not as the Ice Demon, but as 'Yoo Seol-ra'—a Rising Star who inherited the true transmission of an Emei Sect master who died ten years ago.
If she were to rise to the seat of the Two Phoenixes, wouldn't she be called not the Ice Palace Mistress, not the Ice Demon, but the Ice White Phoenix?
'Fortunately, there are no dangerous enemies.'
Yoo Seol-ra unfolded the multi-paged tournament bracket. Looking at the chart provided to all participants, she felt confident of victory.
She and Dokgo Yeon were in separate groups. If they'd been placed together, the mission would likely have failed.
"Phew."
The sole variable in the Eldest Son's plan—the coincidence of Dokgo Yeon and Yoo Seol-ra being grouped together—hadn't happened. All that remained was to do her best in the mission as the Ice Demon, one of the Wild Three Demons.
"Everything for the North Sea Ice Palace...."
Rattle.
The door latch clattered. Yoo Seol-ra covered her mouth with her hand and flared the Ice White Divine Art to its limit.
The possibility of someone opening the shed door? It was none! The Soul-Bewildering Nine Palaces Formation extended right up to the shed door. Unless a pervert pressed their whole body flat against the wall and crept by like an insect, there was absolutely no reason for anyone to touch the latch.
Creak.
"......!!"
The moment the door opened, a brutish hand flew in from outside and clamped over Yoo Seol-ra's mouth.